Half-Alive doll
by LittleCanadianGirl
Summary: On 12 August, 2019, 10 year old Feliciano dies in a house fire. He is the only one in his family to die during the tragedy. Luckily, or unluckily for him, technology allows him to be put in a comatose condition, until the doctors can revive him. 9 years later, Feliciano is revived. Everything seems wonderful, but there is always a catch. AU, Gerita, Spamano
1. Chapter 1

Half-Alive doll

Prologue

_12 August, 2019_

_Vargas mansion fire: Special coverage by the Canadian News Agency_

_Last night, in a village Alberta, Canada, the mansion of the Vargas family was burned down in an assumed household fire. All the people who were inside the house at the time were evacuated, with the exception of the younger grandson of Romulus Vargas, owner of the estate. The Vargas were well known members of society, owners and designers of the world famous fashion company "Italia style". _

_The press interviewed members of the Vargas family about the fire._

_"Feliciano… he was such a nice little boy." Was the only words Romulus Vargas could choke out before collapsing into sobs. The grieving man had to be led out of the interview room._

_"My stupid fratello (1), he was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why didn't he run when I told him to?! I told him to run, but he didn't. The stupid bastard had to trip and fall…" The older brother of the dead boy, a boy named Lovino had cursed his brother and himself for Feliciano's death. _

_Both parents of the boys were out of the country at the time of the accident, and couldn't be interviewed. _

_The fire started at around 1 AM, most likely in the kitchen. From there, the fire had rapidly spread all around the mansion, burning everything in sight. Luckily, the fire alarms worked and alerted the family and the fire department. Because of that, all surviving members of the family had made it out without any injuries. 10 year old Feliciano Vargas had slept through the fire alarms, and by the time he heard his 13 year old brother yelling at him, it had been too late. _

_His body was found by the fire department, hiding under his bed. He had most likely died of oxygen deprivation than by burning, as his body was without any substantial injuries. _

_Fortunately, for the family, they might not have to have a funeral just yet. _

_Due to extensive research done by many scientists around the world, we can now keep dead bodies in a stable condition for many years, still allowing them to age naturally during those years. In a few years, we should be able to revive the dead, and allow them to return to their families. The Vargas family agreed to let officials take Feliciano's body, and use it in the name of science._

Authors note: I hope this is a good prologue. This will be my first multi-chapter story, and I hope you like it. If I get more than one review, I will continue this story. Also, just in case you didn't get it, this prologue is written as an article from a newspaper. It should also be noted that the Canadian News Agency mentioned does not exist, just as Italia Style and other companies don't exist. They are simply creations of my imagination.

(1) Fratello: Brother


	2. Chapter 2

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 1

_Feliciano… when the hell are they going to let you wake up, you bastard? _Lovino quietly seethed to himself as he stared at his brother's annoyingly peaceful face. His brother had been put into a chemical induced coma for 9 years now, since his technical "death" when he was 10. Feliciano was now a 19 year old, and Lovino, being the elder of the two, a 22 year old.

The year was now 2028, and plenty had changed within those 9 years Feliciano had been dead. Humans can now be "officially" raised from the dead. In 2026, a man named Ivan Braginski, who was shot in the heart 10 years ago was somehow awakened from his death by the very doctor that was treating Feliciano now. That was one of the greatest breakthroughs in medical history. Although at the time of Feliciano's death, the doctors had already told Lovino and his family they could do that, no one had truly believed them. They had only given them Feliciano's body so that they wouldn't have to see his coffin be covered up by the earth.

Lovino himself had changed a lot since that fateful night. The once slightly chubby 13 year old had grown to be a handsome young man, who worked as a designer for Italia Style, the family business. However, you could still tell that he was the same person from 9 years ago. He had retained his 3 most prominent traits: His fiery temper, dirty mouth, and a long hair curl on the right side of his head.

Feliciano had changed a lot as well. Although the boy had been comatose, he had continued to age, due to a constant stream of drugs pumped into his body. He now had the looks of a 19 year old, with looks similar to his brother, although the peaceful, sleepy expression on his face would never appear on his brother's.

Lovino lightly tapped the sealed transparent case his brother's body was trapped in. Feliciano didn't look as though he were dead. In fact, it looked like he was simply sleeping. The only indication that the boy was in fact, a corpse was the many tubes inserted into his back, and the fact that he was standing up, but his feet didn't touch the ground. Those tubes in his back are what had kept him going for all those years.

"Don't worry, fratello. They say you will wake up soon."

With that, Lovino Vargas left the room.

Right after he left, a doctor strode into the room.

The doctor seemed ordinary enough, wearing a white coat typical of doctors. His pale blond hair was of medium length, and his eyes were a dark blue color. The doctor's was a thin man, but not so thin as to mark him abnormal. The only thing that would distract from his normal factor was the strange cold aura that seemed to cover him.

His long, thin hand clutched a long silver tube. The tube was filled with a dull blue substance, and inside the substance, several detached wires floated around.

The doctor slowly walked up to the case where Feliciano's body stood.

"Little Feliciano Vargas… how long have you been asleep? 9 years?" The doctor mused as he pressed his finger to a sensor beside the glass case.

The glass doors of the case slid open slowly.

"Look at you. I'm proud. You have grown so much." A chuckle could be heard.

"As much as I would like to keep you, your time has come. You will wake up today, as it was decided, many years ago. What a pity. I wanted you to stay."

Feliciano's body was pushed forward by the tubes connected to his back.

The doctor carefully detached 5 of the tubes, to reveal a little cavity in Feliciano's back. The cavity was just the size of the tube the man was holding. The doctor held up the tube to Feliciano's back, then after a couple minutes of inspection, pressed it in.

"I hope this works."

The reaction was almost immediate.

Feliciano's body began trembling almost right after the tube was pressed in. The doctor leaned in a little closer to see the tube more clearly. The detached wires within the blue substance were rapidly twitching towards each other, powered by some invisible source. Said source was Feliciano's pure energy.

Each of the wires within the tube seemed to be attracted to a wire on the other side of the tube. They twitched and wriggled towards each other, jumping around erratically. Once all the wires had a partner, Feliciano would be alive again.

The last wires met, and melded together.

"Feliciano, can you hear me?"

There was no immediate response.

"I see. It didn't work? What a pity, I must tell your brother then…"

"Ve…"

A small sound made it's way out of Feliciano's slightly parted mouth.

"Excuse me?"

"Ve… are you a doctor?"

The doctor made an important realization as Feliciano uttered those words. Feliciano Vargas wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the toolbox.

"Yes, I am a doctor. Why do you ask?"

"Ve… you're wearing a funny white coat."

Feliciano Vargas also had the attention span of a 5 year old.

He also had a verbal tic.

Perhaps it wasn't so bad that he had to leave soon?

"Feliciano, do you remember your brother?"

"Ve! I do! Ooh, is Lovi here?" The small brunette's mouth parted for a wide smile.

"Well, he'll be here soon."

"Ve… where's here?"

"A research center."

"Ve… why am I in a research center?"

"Because you've just been raised from the state you have been in for the last 9 years."

"What state is that?"

"Dead." The doctor braced himself for hysterics.

They didn't come.

"That's great… Is there any pasta here? I want pasta…" The boy wasn't concerned at all about the fact that he had been dead for the last 9 years.

"Wait a minute. Let me do something important first. Turn around for me, please." The doctor dearly hoped Feliciano would be compliant and turn around. Luckily, he did. Feliciano's back was still cut partially open, and the now glowing blue tube was still visible. The doctor had to fix that right now.

With skilled hands, the doctor took out a thin strip of skin colored tape, then taped up the gaping wound. The tape then melded itself into Feliciano's body, and became one with his skin. The doctor then prodded it a bit, just to make sure it was safe.

"Ve… are you done?"

"Yes. I will find you some pasta as soon as I've called your brother. Feel free to wander around in this room for now."

"Alright…" The little brunette wandered aimlessly around the dark room the two figures were in. There really wasn't much to look at, so Feliciano amused himself by trying to jump on the faint shadow he cast. The doctor shook his head slightly as he took out a phone. A string of numbers were pressed, and the doctor pressed the cold device to the side of his head.

"Hello? This is Lovino Vargas speaking. What the hell do you want?"

"This is Doctor Winter speaking."

"What the hell do you want, Winter? Say it fast, I don't have fucking time for small talk."

"Your brother is awake."

The doctor was met with silence from the other side of the line. He heard a crash on the other side, possibly Lovino dropping the phone in surprise.

"Mr. Vargas? Are you still there?"

"Y-yes. Can I come over now?"

"If it's alright for you. We will meet you in the cafeteria, if that's alright for you. Hello? Are you still there?"

Lovino had already hung up.

"Such an impatient young man…"

"Ve… who were you talking to?"

"Your brother, Lovino."

"Ve… is he coming? I miss him…"

"He's coming. We'll be going to the cafeteria in a few minutes."

"Ve...!"

_Stupid bastard… couldn't you have woken up just a few minutes earlier? Now I have to drive all the way back to that stupid place. _Lovino Vargas quietly fumed to himself.

"Lovi? Are you alright?" The perpetually happy voice of Antonio Fernandez Carriedo asked from the passengers seat of Lovino's car. Antonio had somehow managed to get into Lovino's car without him noticing, and was now sitting beside him.

Antonio is a Spanish colleague of Lovino's, and is also Lovino's and Feliciano's childhood play buddy. Their families lived right next to each other, and so the older Spanish boy often had to babysit the two younger Italians. Antonio is also, although Lovino will never admit it, Lovino's boyfriend.

"I'm so happy Feliciano's finally awake! Do you think…" The Spanish man chattered on and on beside Lovino, making him twitch.

"Will you fucking shut it for 10 fucking minutes?"

"But Lovi…" The Spanish man had on the most pathetic look Lovino had ever seen.

"Alright, alright… keep on talking. Just don't fucking stare at me like that! Stupid tomato bastard…"

The two pulled up to the parking lot of the research facility about 10 minutes later. The two hurried in through the sliding glass doors, and into the cafeteria. The doctor was there, with a conscious, very alive Feliciano.

Feliciano was stuffing his face with a plate of pasta, just like he always did before he died. Lovino's eyes teared up a bit at the memory, but he quickly blinked away the tears before they could fall out.

Feliciano looked up from his plate, to see the 2 men standing before him. It took a few minutes for Feliciano to realize who they were. When he did, he launched himself out of his chair and latched onto his brother.

Lovino make a halfhearted attempt to push his clingy brother off him, but gave up. Feliciano had happy tears running down his cheeks, staining Lovino's shirt.

"You fucking bastard… you fucking woke up." Lovino started to choke up a bit, but managed to keep his feelings under control.

When the younger Italian finally got his sobbing under control, the doctor stood up. The trio standing before him all jumped, having already forgotten about the doctor.

"It seems that everything is under control. Would you three like to go now?"

"Wait, you doctor bastard. Are you sure there aren't any forms we need to sign?"

"I assure you, you are free to go."

It all seemed rather suspicious to Lovino, but he shrugged it off. He had his brother back, and Feliciano seemed alive enough. That was good enough for Lovino.

"Come on, Feliciano, tomato bastard. We're going."

With that, the three left.

"Good-bye Feliciano. I do hope we will meet again. In fact, I'm sure we will meet again. Very soon, in fact." The doctor spoke mostly to himself. As he turned away, a dark smile crept across his face.

"Feli, you're just as cute as you were 9 years ago~!" Antonio cooed from the backseat of Lovino's car.

"If you're thinking of doing anything to my brother, bastard, I will personally castrate you."

"Ve… what's 'castrate'?"

"Something you never want to fucking experience."

Suddenly, Lovino's phone rang. "Hello? This is Lovino Vargas speaking. What the hell do you want?"

"Hon hon hon… Lovino, your language is as vulgar as always." A French accented voice purred from the phone.

"Francis? Why did you call? Actually, just tell me what the hell you want."

"What I want? Well… there's plenty of things that I-"

"What I fucking want to know is what you called for."

"Hon hon hon… so blunt! Well, if you must know, I heard little Feliciano is awake. Is that true?"

"Who the hell fucking told you?"

"Antonio. Oh, and he also told Gilbert and Ludwig, Arthur, Alfred, Yao, what's his name…"

Lovino turned around to face Antonio as he pulled into the driveway leading up to his house. "Is that true?"

"Yes~ Is there something wrong? I wanted to share the good news!"

"You bastard… you can't keep that fucking trap of yours shut, can you?"

"Ve… what did big brother Antonio do?"

"Stay out of this, Feliciano."

"Ve…"

"Lovino? Are you still there? I haven't finished talking yet, mon ami. (1)" Francis called from the phone. "Gilbert says he's coming to your house now with Ludwig. I'm also coming now. Au revoir! (2)" With that, the Frenchman hung up.

"The fuck?"

The phone rang again.

"What?"

"Kesese~ Lovino, pissed off as usual! So unawesome…"

"Gilbert, what the hell do you want?" The question came out more like a statement. A very annoyed statement.

"I'm just calling to tell you that awesome is coming with his unawesome little bruder (3). I'm also bringing beer."

"No- no beer!" Lovino's protests weren't heard, as Gilbert hung up on him.

"I'm going to fucking kill them…"

It was going to be a long day for Lovino.

Author's note: I hope this is a good first chapter. I tried to add a bit of humour in, but I don't have much experience with it. I hope it works alright.

(1) mon ami: My friend (French)

(2) Au revoir: Good-bye (French

(3) Bruder: Brother (German)


	3. Chapter 3

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 2

"Kesesese! West, this is so awesome!" A silver haired albino man cackled from the passenger seat of a beat down car. The man's name was Gilbert Beilschmidt, a self-proclaimed awesome "Prussian".

The albino man proceeded to repeatedly poke said "West" on the shoulder, after he failed to reply.

"Gilbert, I will kick you out of this car this instant if you do not stop doing that. And stop calling me 'West'. You know my name is Ludwig." Ludwig's low voice had a slight hint of annoyance in it, but that didn't stop Gilbert from continuing to rattle on.

"Aw, Luddy, stop being such a stick in the mud." Gilbert whined at Ludwig. "You're no fun at all. How are we even brothers, with you being so unawesome and me being the most awesome thing to ever grace this world?"

If anyone who didn't know the two brothers saw the two together, they would never had guessed that they were brothers. The two were as different as night and day.

Gilbert, the elder of the two, was probably one of the stranger individuals of society, although he dismissed it as "awesomeness". His silver hair and red eyes caused by albinism would give most the image of "vampire", and make most children run for mommy. Gilbert also had the habit of getting into trouble whenever possible, and often relied on Ludwig to bail him out of prison, or wherever else he managed to get to. However, Gilbert was a person that you could always count on to have a good time with, although the probability that you won't have a hangover the day after you hung out with him is low.

Extremely low.

Ludwig, on the other hand, was a hardworking man with a respectable job. His blond hair was always slicked back perfectly on his head, and his expression was always a stern one. His icy blue eyes gave him an intimidating feel, especially when he was glaring at you. Ludwig was also taller than his brother by a few centimeters, despite being younger. This was a fact that Gilbert often spent hours sulking about, complaining that his "unawesome little brother" was taller stronger than him.

"West?"

"Yes?"

"You do know why we're going to the Vargas mansion, right? Or did I forget to tell you?"

"You forgot to tell me."

"I did? Well that was unawesome of me. Well, at least, as unawesome as I can get. Which isn't very unawesome." Gilbert continued rambling on about how "unawesome" and "awesome" he was for another minute or so before going back on topic.

"Anyways, as I was saying, Feliciano woke up today."

"Who is Feliciano?"

"What?! You forgot? You forgot your little girlfriend?"

"G-girlfriend?"

"Well, technically boyfriend. Whatever gender he is. Was. I'm confused." A puzzled look flashed across Gilbert's pale face, before his arrogant smirk made it's way back.

"Just forget about the girlfriend boyfriend part. You don't remember him at all?"

"No. Not at all."

"You must have forgotten him along with everything else…"

Ludwig had been in a car crash when he was 12 that made him develop amnesia about everything before the crash. Since Feliciano had died when they were both 10, Feliciano's existence had been erased from Ludwig's memory.

"Feliciano was a little kid your age that lived down the street from us when we were kids. He was the little brother of Lovino. You know, that Italian guy with the foul mouth and is the boyfriend of Antonio? He and Feliciano had lived right down the street from us, in a big, awesome mansion. We would always play with each other, like normal kids do."

Ludwig nodded silently.

"Anyways, one day, the mansion burned down. Everyone inside had escaped except for Feliciano. He died in his room from air poisoning. After the firefighters extinguished the fire, they found him mostly unscathed under his bed. But he was dead."

"If he died, how did he 'wake up' today?"

"I'm getting there. Since when they found him his body was mostly in good condition, the doctors offered to keep his body in a stable condition that would allow him to continue growing until they could revive him. Lovino's family allowed them to take Feliciano, just so that they wouldn't have to see his grave. Feliciano was taken to a laboratory, and was kept there in that mostly dead condition for 9 years. During those 9 years, science had developed far enough to raise humans from the dead. And that's what they did to Feliciano today!" Gilbert finished his little speech with a flourish.

Ludwig continued driving in silence, contemplating what Gilbert had just said. They were driving to the Vargas house to see the formerly dead Feliciano Vargas. Feliciano had been, from what Gilbert had said, perhaps Ludwig's childhood best friend.

Or girlfriend.

Boyfriend.

Gender-neutral thing.

Whatever.

For Ludwig, it was a lot to take in.

The Beilschmidt brothers' car pulled into the driveway of the home of Lovino Vargas. The house was a surprisingly modest house, considering the wealth of the owner. It consisted of 2 floors, a small front yard and a medium sized back yard. Nothing about the house showed that the inhabitant inside was a world famous fashion designer.

As Ludwig pulled in, he spotted Lovino Vargas standing on a balcony with his boyfriend Antonio Carriedo Fernandez and a small man that looked strikingly similar to Lovino, except with lighter colored hair and a more peaceful expression on his slightly chubby face.

Lovino spotted the brothers pull into the driveway, and took Antonio and Feliciano with him down to greet the two visitors. By greet, Lovino meant insult.

"Stupid potato bastard. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello to you too, Lovino."

"Ve… Luddy, is that you?"

Ludwig glanced down at the small man that had suddenly appeared right in front of him. The man seemed to be looking at him, yet his eyes were shut. Perhaps this is the Feliciano Gilbert had mentioned?

"Ahem. Yes. It's me."

The man gave a rather girlish squeal as he launched himself at Ludwig. Ludwig's face reddened at the sudden contact, as he observed Lovino glaring at him. If looks could kill, Ludwig would be a horribly mutilated corpse.

"Get away from my idiot brother, bastard."

"Yes… I'll… I'll try." Ludwig stammered a bit as he tried to pry Feliciano off of him. The little man was surprisingly strong, and held on better than he expected.

"Can't even pry my stupid little brother off? Tch." Lovino scoffed at Ludwig's predicament as he strode forward and easily plucked Feliciano off. Feliciano whined a bit but didn't resist.

"Kesesesese! Feli didn't seem to change much over the years, huh? He's still cute little Feli~" Gilbert cooed Feliciano. Feliciano's permanent smile seemed to widen a bit more as he hugged Gilbert.

"Ve… big brother Gilbert~! You look so different!"

"Kesesesese! I would expect so, after 9 years."

"Ve… was I dead for 9 years?"

"Ja!"

"That's a long time…"

Suddenly, a sleek, flashy red car pulled into the driveway, which was quickly becoming crowded.

"Bonjour (1) everyone!"

Francis Bonnefoy had arrived.

Francis Bonnefoy was the childhood friend of both Lovino and Feliciano. He had been their playmate and babysitter, just like Antonio.

"Who told you to come, you wine bastard?"

"Antonio did, Lovino. Also, mind your language. It makes big brother so sad to hear such foul language coming out of such a pretty boy~!" Francis then winked at Lovino in a rather suggestive way.

"You fucking pervert!"

"Ve… big brother Francis~!"

"Cute little Feliciano! Come hug big brother!"

Lovino turned his head around at the sight of the mushy greeting before him. This was exactly why he didn't want everyone coming at once. All that hugging was making him sick.

"Does Lovi want to hug too?" A Spanish accented voice suddenly sounded by Lovino's ear.

"You bastard! Why the fuck would I want to hug you?!"

"But Lovi looked so lonely~!"

Just as Lovino was about to retort, yet another car pulled up to Lovino's house.

"The hero and his sidekick are here!" The loud, obnoxious voice of Alfred F. Jones sounded. An almost whispery voice mumbled a few words that went unheard by everyone.

"Who told you two bastards to come?"

"Uh… Antonio had… um… called Alfred to-" Matthew Williams, the younger of the two twins was cut off by his louder twin.

"Antonio called!"

"Tomato bastard, what have I told you about phoning everyone?"

"Uh… to not phone everyone?"

"You're hopeless…"

Alfred F. Jones and Matthew Williams were classmates of Feliciano. They were one year younger, but often played with Feliciano during recess and lunch break, soon becoming fast friends.

"Hahaha!" Alfred laughed for no apparent reason, other than to annoy Lovino.

"Let's go hit the pool!" Alfred yelled.

Lovino groaned, and muttered under his breath. "Stupid hamburger bastard. I fucking swear, I'll murder him…"

"That's the most random thing I've heard Alfred ever say, and that's saying something…" someone murmured.

"Ve~! We're going swimming!"

For whatever reason, the little group decided to go swimming, listening to one of Alfred's ideas for once. Before long, they were at the local pool.

The changing room was, to be summed up in one word, chaotic.

The bad touch trio, which consisted of Gilbert, Francis and Antonio were being their usual perverted and boisterous selves, with Gilbert loudly proclaiming his awesomeness and about his "five meters", Francis trying to grope everyone, and Antonio just being his usual overly affectionate self.

"Ohonhonhon! Feliciano, you've got such a lovely body!"

"Thank you, big brother-"

"You better not be trying to molest my stupid little brother!"

"Lovi, you're so red right now. You look like a little tomato!"

"Hahaha! The hero looks so awesome!"

"Sorry, kid, but I will always be awesomer."

"The hero is the awesomest!"

"Alfred, Gilbert, please stop arguing…"

Finally, after much arguing and chaos, the group managed to successfully change and go out to the pool.

Alfred immediately cannonballed into the pool, followed closely by Gilbert and Antonio. Lovino and Matthew were unwilling dragged along by Antonio and Alfred. Other families that were innocently sitting by the pool were all completely drenched.

Francis sauntered over to a chair by the pool and began tanning himself. He found a pretty lady sitting in the chair beside him, and immediately began flirting.

"Ohonhon… what is a beautiful lady like you at this pool for?"

Feliciano and Ludwig were the last ones out of the changing room.

"Ve… it's been so long since I've swam!"

"Uh… I suppose so."

Feliciano chattered on and on about random things that popped into his mind, subjects ranging from pasta to pretty ladies to squirrels to pasta again. Ludwig's mind rushed to keep up with the Italian boy's chatter.

The two stepped slowly into the cool water of the pool. Feliciano shivered a bit as the cold substance hit his sensitive skin. He also felt a feeling that wasn't familiar to him, one he had never felt before when swimming.

It felt like something was burning his spine and lungs.

The feeling wasn't intense, but it wasn't a feeling that should be experienced while swimming.

Feliciano dismissed it as an aftereffect of being dead for the last 9 years.

Ludwig couldn't stop staring at Feliciano.

More specifically, the middle Feliciano's back.

Not in a perverted way!

It was just that- and Ludwig wasn't sure if it was just his imagination- but Feliciano's back seemed to be glowing.

Glowing blue.

It wasn't a fluorescent blue or anything overly vibrant, but the Italian man's slightly tanned back definitely had a patch of blue in the middle of it.

Ludwig's breath hitched as Feliciano stepped further into the water, letting the water cover the glowing spot. Nothing strange seemed to happen, but Ludwig could swear Feliciano shuddered a bit as the water lapped around his body. However, Feliciano didn't mention anything, so Ludwig didn't say anything about it.

His mind told him he should've said something, but he dismissed that thought.

If it didn't hurt Feliciano, it couldn't have been something too bad.

"Ve~ this is so fun!" Feliciano cooed to himself. He was lying on his back, floating in the middle of the pool with his eyes closed. The feeling of water all around him gave everything a calm feeling, despite the chaos that was going on around him. He could vaguely feel Ludwig's stern gaze upon him, but didn't really mind it. After all, if you saw a formerly dead person floating around in the middle of a pool, you would be staring too.

_Little Feliciano, are you enjoying your little swim?_

Feliciano's eyes opened suddenly.

Who was that?

He straightened up in the water and peered around. No one seemed to be speaking to him, or even look at him for that matter. Even Ludwig was speaking to his brother, looking away from him.

_Feliciano, who are you looking for?_

_Ve~ I think I'm looking for you, voice!_

_Well good luck. You won't find me in anywhere but your own mind._

His own mind?

This didn't sound good to him.

Author's note: Sorry for the slow update. (Not that you would really care, but you know...) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 3

Ludwig found himself staring at Feliciano again. The boy seemed to always have something strange happening to him.

Before, it was the glowing blue patch in his back. Now, he was talking to himself.

"Feliciano?"

"Ve!" Feliciano shot up from the water in shock.

"Oh, it's just you, Ludwig. I thought he came to get me!" Feliciano relaxed visibly, knowing that the strange voice in his mind wasn't out to get him.

Ludwig stayed silent, deciding to not ask about who "he" was. After all, it probably wasn't his business to find out. It was probably just Feliciano's imagination. He seemed to be the type to zone out and daydream.

"Ve, Ludwig, are you alright?" Ludwig found himself literally face to face with the Italian boy. He fell on his back into the water in shock.

"Feliciano! You don't do that to people!"

"Kesesese~ What was Feliciano doing?" Gilbert asked Ludwig, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"What are you _thinking_?!"

"Well… I was thinking that you two were…" Ludwig's face burned bright red at his brother's words. Gilbert was such a pervert!

"Ve… what did you think Ludwig and I were doing?"

"Well, little Feliciano… I thought that you two were…" Gilbert leaned in close to Feliciano and whispered into his ear. Feliciano's expression stayed the same all through Gilbert's little whisper speech, while Ludwig's face burned a even darker red than before. Even if he couldn't hear what his brother was saying, he had a pretty good idea what he was trying to tell Feliciano.

"… and that's what I thought that you and Ludwig were doing." Gilbert smirked in satisfaction at Ludwig's horrified expression.

Feliciano seemed rather confused as he asked Gilbert loudly, "Ve, what does 'molest' mean?"

"Pfffft!" Gilbert stifled a laugh as Ludwig covered his face. What did he have to be the one to have someone like Gilbert for a brother? Why couldn't his brother have been someone who acted more like his age, and not his shoe size? Why couldn't he have been born an only child? Ludwig silently panicked.

"Ve, fratello!" Feliciano yelled over to Lovino.

"What is it, you idiot?"

"What does 'molest' mean?"

Lovino's face turned into the color of the tomatoes he was famous for loving. "You two potato bastards! What the hell have you been teaching my stupid little fratello?" The angry Italian ranted.

"It wasn't me, I was just-" "Kesesese, nothing bad. I was just trying to tell him what West was doing to Feliciano…" Gilbert snickered to himself as Ludwig paled a bit.

"Chigi!"

Ludwig was going to have a hard time escaping the furious Italian.

After many angry cuss words and throwing of fists later, the whole group of friends were told to leave, much to the dismay of some.

"That was uncool! You two should buy us all burgers to make up for making us leave!" Alfred whined. "We weren't even doing anything!"

"I wasn't doing anything!" Ludwig tried to protest.

"You shut up, potato bastard! You were trying to molest my stupid little brother!" Lovino ranted at Ludwig.

"Ve, I still don't know what molest means!" Feliciano whined to his brother. "You don't need to know, you idiot!"

"Ohonhon, Ludwig! I never knew you were into _that_!"

"Lovi, don't be mad, have a tomato!" Antonio seemed to produce a ripe, juicy tomato out of thin air. Lovino grabbed the tomato and chomped angrily into it, glaring at Ludwig as he chewed.

"Hahaha! Let's go eat! The hero is hungry!"

"Ve! Let's get pasta!"

"Burgers!"

"Beer!"

A whole new had argument started.

Somehow, the group finally decided on going to an Italian restaurant. After all of them were seated and had their food, they dug in.

"I still think we should have gotten burgers…" Alfred moped as he poked his fork into a meatball.

"Ve, I haven't eaten pasta in such a long time!"

"You idiot, you haven't eaten anything in 9 years!"

"Lovino, don't be so cranky~ Here's a cheer up charm! Fusososo…" Antonio spread his arms out as he cooed to Lovino.

Everything seemed to be mostly in order.

"Ve, this is so fun…" Feliciano mused to himself.

_This is fun, isn't it? _

_Ve, you're back. _

_Yes, I am. Missed me? _

_Not really… Was I supposed to? _

_How to answer that… I don't know. Anyways, do you enjoy being alive again? _

_Yes! I like seeing everyone so happy and getting along so well!_

A plate crashed onto the wall.

_Well, mostly getting along. _

_Well, little Feliciano. You better enjoy this, because it might end soon. In fact, I know it will end soon. _

_Ve, why?_

The voice didn't answer him. The only answer he got was a small jolt of pain in his back.

_Voice? Are you still there? _

"Stupid fratello! Why the hell aren't you eating?"

"Ve, I wasn't?

"Yes, you weren't. Why aren't you inhaling your three plates of pasta like you used to?" Lovino's voice had a hint of worry to it. If his stupid little brother wasn't inhaling his pasta, something was definitely wrong.

Wait, nothing was wrong. Feliciano was eating like there was no tomorrow now. In fact, he was already onto his second plate of pasta. Lovino spotted Ludwig staring at his brother.

"Potato bastard! What the hell are you staring at my brother for?!" Lovino yelled at Ludwig.

Ludwig blushed as he realized what he had been doing.

"You were thinking about how to molest him, weren't you, you potato bastard?"

"No! No! I was just thinking about how he could eat so much and not choke."

Lovino stared at the German skeptically before turning back to his own plate of pasta, keeping a close eye on Ludwig. Lovino didn't notice Feliciano flinch suddenly, as the younger Italian's hand shuddered before moving slowly towards his knife.

Lovino didn't notice the look of panic on his younger brother's face, as Feliciano's normally closed eyes widened in horror, as he watched his own hand betray him. Feliciano's slender fingers wrapped slowly around the wooden handle of the knife.

_What's happening to me? _Feliciano mentally shrieked. He was seeing his own hand move of it's own will towards a potentially dangerous weapon.

_Are you worried? _

_Y-yes! Of course I am! _

_Well, don't. This is all for the good of things. _Feliciano could almost hear a smirk in the voice.

A sudden pain erupted in the back of Feliciano's head, as it snapped up suddenly. "S-stop!"

Lovino finally noticed something strange with his brother. Why the hell was his stupid little fratello holding a damn knife for? He was eating pasta, for goodness sake! Why did he need a knife? Lovino then noticed his brother's wide eyed expression.

"You little bastard… what the hell are you doing?"

"F-Fratello… I-" Feliciano suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence, and slumped back in his chair. His eyes closed, as his muscles relaxed.

"Hahaha! What are you two Italians doing? Having a nap in a restaurant?" Alfred's obnoxious voice broke through Lovino's thoughts. When he received no answer from the older Italian, he decided to poke his shoulder over and over until he got one. Poke, poke, poke…

"What the fucking hell are you doing? Can't you see my stupid little brother just tried to stab someone with a fucking knife?" Lovino ranted at Alfred.

"Hahaha! What are you talking about? Look at him, there isn't a knife anywhere near him! You Italians are so weird…" Alfred laughed in Lovino's face, spraying bits of food everywhere. Lovino fried to shield himself with a napkin, which only succeeded in blocking about 5% of the bits of food flying from Alfred's face. Lovino sneered in disgust at the American's terrible table manners.

"What the hell are you talking about? He was just holding a fucking knife!"

"Look for yourself!"

Lovino rolled his eyes, as he turned to face his brother, expecting for him to still have that knife next to him. Instead, he saw his brother rapidly shoveling pasta into his mouth, with that fucking potato bastard staring at him again. There was not a single knife in sight.

"I…" Lovino sputtered as Alfred laughed his "victory laugh".

"You see? There was no knife! You're hallucinating! Are you sure you're not on drugs? You designer people… you never know…" Alfred trailed off, murmuring something about drugs, designers, and aliens.

"What… the hell? Feliciano, where's that knife?"

"Ve, what knife, fratello?" Feliciano seemed as clueless as ever, as he faced his brother. "Are you looking for one? You can ask Luddy for one, I think he has one."

"That knife you were holding- what the hell? Luddy? You've given the potato bastard a nickname? What the hell were you thinking? He's a fucking potato bastard!" Lovino ranted at his younger brother.

"Ve, Luddy is a nice!"

"Nice my ass!"

"Ohonhonhon, you do have a nice ass~"

A dark aura emerged around the older Italian. Francis gulped, and turned back to his food. Feliciano giggled at the antics of his older brother and the Frenchman. Lovino relaxed at the sight of his brother laughing like he used to, nine years ago. Lovino didn't seem like much of a protective older brother, (or so he thought. Everyone else knew better.) but he did love to see his younger brother laugh and be happy. Lovino decided not to murder anyone, as not to disturb the (somewhat) good atmosphere.

That night, the Italian brothers went back to Lovino's house, and got ready for bed. Lovino felt good with someone other than friends for company.

"Ve, fratello, good night~"

"Good night, you bastard."

Feliciano snuggled into his blankets, and prepared to sleep. He closed his (already closed) eyes, and whispered a good night to himself.

"Ve, this bed is so warm… I'm so tired~" A peaceful, sleepy smile made itself known on his face as he buried into his pillow.

_Missed me? _

"Aah! Oh, it's you again."

_Yes, it's nice to see you again. _

_I didn't say it was nice to see you again. _

_I don't have time for small talk. Neither do you. In fact, you have a job to do. _

_I do? What is it?_

The voice didn't answer. Instead, Feliciano felt himself stand up, not in control of his own body again. This feeling felt eerily familiar to the strange feeling in the restaurant.

_Isn't the feeling of not being in control nice? _

_N-no… _Feliciano could barely think straight. It seemed that whatever had possessed his body had also possessed his mind.

Feliciano felt himself walk over to his large sliding window, and slowly open it. The window opened without any resistance, and he easily swung himself over. Feliciano felt glad that his dark, black pajamas made it hard to see him in the dim light of the street lights. Otherwise, it would be very hard to have to explain to someone why he was out in his pajamas in the middle of the night.

Feliciano felt his legs hit the cold grass on the lawn of the house. The slightly wet strands tickled his feet slightly, as he walked silently across. Feliciano then made his way to the sidewalk, as he felt himself begin to run.

He ran and ran, for what seemed like an eternity, before stopping before a small plain house. The house had a small mailbox in front of it that read "Zwingli".

"That name sounds Swiss…" Feliciano mused as he felt himself walk down the small driveway to one of the windows.

"Am I going to break into someone's house?"

_Yes you are._

_You're back! _

There was no answer, as Feliciano felt his hands fumble with the lock of the window. After a few minutes, he had opened the window. He slid it open slightly, just barely enough to slip through with ease.

He found himself in a room with a little blond girl sleeping peacefully in a big bed with light pink blankets. A small night lamp was glowing softly in a corner of the room. The room gave off a sense of comfort and softness.

Except for the rifle hanging on the wall opposite the girl's bed.

The rifle Feliciano's body was forcing him towards.

"No! I don't want to shoot anyone!"

_Too bad, little one. _

"I don't want to be a murderer!"

Author's note: I don't particularly like this chapter... at least the story is finally moving on a bit. I felt that it was going a bit too slowly... Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 4

Feliciano felt his slightly sweaty hands grab the rifle. It felt heavy and cold and strange to him, having never held one before. Feliciano's hands shook as he fumbled with the rifle. After a few minutes, his hands seemed to have gotten a proper hold on the weapon. Feliciano then felt his body turn away from the wall, towards the little girl who was still asleep in her bead.

Feliciano stepped towards her, slowly and cautiously. His rifle was pointed towards the ground.

"Am I… going to shoot her?!" Feliciano whispered to himself, hysteria entering his voice.

_Yes, and there really isn't anything you can do about it, is there?_

"I…!" Feliciano gasped out loud as his hands lifted the rifle up and aimed towards the girl's head.

Suddenly, the door of the room opened. "What are you doing here?" A slightly german accented voice asked from the doorway. A rather small blond man that looked strikingly similar to the girl in the bed stepped inside the room. His green eyes glared at Feliciano, making him shudder a bit.

"I d-don't know! Don't hurt me!" Feliciano cried, a few tears rolling down his pale cheeks.

"How can you not know? You are in my house holding a rifle to my sister."

"I really don't know!" Feliciano practically screamed as his body turned towards the blond man.

"Brother? What is happening?" The high pitched, slightly dazed voice of the little girl in the bed asked. "Who is he?"

"Lilli, shush. I will deal with him." The blond man commanded. The girl stopped talking immediately.

"I will shoot you if you dare touch my sister." The blond man threatened, holding up a gun Feliciano hadn't noticed before.

Feliciano felt his body suddenly jerk towards the bed, holding up the rifle, ready to fire. His finger that had rested lightly upon the trigger now applied a slight force to it, and had almost pressed down, when he felt something hit him in the leg.

He turned to face the blond man, and noticed that the gun he was holding was smoking a bit. Feliciano then looked at his left leg, and noticed a little bullet hole in it. Strangely, it wasn't bleeding at all. In fact, it didn't even hurt.

"What… what kind of monster are you?" The blond man whispered at Feliciano. Although he tried to hide it, Feliciano could hear a slight hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm… not a monster."

"If you aren't, how do you explain that?" The blond man pointed at the bullet wound on Feliciano's leg.

Feliciano stared at the bullet wound. Actually, where the bullet wound had been only a few minutes ago. There was only a small indent in the otherwise unmarred skin.

_This little show is getting boring. I think we should hurry it up a little. _

Feliciano didn't even have time to respond. All he could understand was that he had pulled the trigger faster than he thought possible.

And that there was blood everywhere.

_I think that you shouldn't have to remember this night. After all, you are but a child. No child should have to see this sort of thing. Now relax and forget, while I take care of everything. _

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ludwig's light blue eyes opened immediately after hearing the monotonous beeping of his alarm clock. He slammed his large hand on top of it, immediately silencing the annoying machine.

Ludwig then read what the clock had to say.

_5:00 AM, 26 August, 2028_

Ludwig quickly showered and dressed, and strode to his brother's room to wake Gilbert up. He opened the door and spotted his brother as a blanket covered lump in the middle of his bed. Ludwig sighed as he shook his brother.

"West! What the hell! Not awesome!" Gilbert complained as he was shaken awake.

"It's morning."

Ludwig left his brother in his room to dress and complain about how 'unawesome' it was to be shaken awake at 5:30 in the morning on a weekend. As Gilbert got dressed, Ludwig walked to the kitchen to begin cooking breakfast, as he did everyday.

As Ludwig cooked, he thought about the strange dream he had last night.

_Ludwig was standing in front of a huge house, a mansion. The mansion was wonderfully kept, with a huge lawn that had trees and flowers planted tastefully. He was standing at the door, waiting for someone. _

_Ludwig rang the doorbell once, twice… Just as he was about to ring it a third time, the door opened. _

_A girl wearing a green and white dress with a bandanna covering most of her hair peered at him. Her eyes seemed to be closed, but were staring at him all the same. _

_"Hello… uh…" Ludwig felt himself blush as the girl smiled up at him. _

_"I've been waiting for you! I'm so glad you're here~" The girl giggled a bit before leading him into the mansion. _

"OI! Earth to West!" Gilbert's loud, obnoxious interrupted Ludwig's thoughts.

"Yes, bruder?"

"You were about to put beer in the wurst." Gilbert smirked at Ludwig's expression. "What were you thinking of? Were you…" Gilbert made a suggestive face.

"No, not what you're thinking of!" Ludwig blushed.

"Well, you looked like…"

"It was just a dream."

"A dream about…?" The suggestive face made it's way back.

"Nothing, just a random dream about a little girl."

"Little girl? You sure it was a girl and not a guy?" Gilbert's expression suddenly turned serious.

"She was wearing a dress! And no guy can ever giggle like she did." Ludwig was slightly confused as why Gilbert would ask that question.

"Nothing, nothing."

The conversation about Ludwig's dream ended there. However, Ludwig still thought about it.

_That dream didn't seem like a dream. It was more like… a memory? Feliciano… _Ludwig almost slapped himself. What the hell? Why was he thinking of Feliciano?

"Kesese, West! You look so stupid!"

Ludwig sighed. Why had he thought that his brother could be serious for once? His brother was probably just joking, as usual.

"Feliciano! Wake up! Wake the fuck up!" The angry voice of Lovino yelled at Feliciano. "Why the hell are you not waking up?!"

Feliciano's eyes opened slightly. His head hurt a bit, and he still felt tired. "Ve, fratello, let me sleep a bit more…" He turned over in his bed and buried his head deeper in his pillow.

"Get up!" Lovino grabbed Feliciano's blanket and lifted it up, exposing Feliciano's warm body to the cold air.

"Ve!" Feliciano shot straight up, wide awake.

"Get down stairs for breakfast." With that, the elder Italia strode out of the room and went downstairs to the kitchen.

"I'm so tired… but I slept so early…" Feliciano mumbled to himself. He felt rather strange, as though he had forgotten something. Did he forget something in the restaurant he had eaten lunch in yesterday?

_Had a nice sleep? _

"Waah! Oh, you're back. Again." Feliciano tried to repress a sigh as the voice made its presence known yet again.

_Yes, I had a nice sleep. Well, sort of. I'm kind of tired… _

_I see. Well, you'll feel better after breakfast. _

_Ve… _

Feliciano made his way downstairs. As he entered the kitchen, an array of things greeted him: the smell of burning tomatoes, the screaming of his older brother, and a plate of pasta on the table.

"Ve, fratello, why are you screaming?"

"This… isn't screaming! I-I was just… yelling!" Lovino felt rather flustered, as his little brother had just caught him screaming like a girl.

"Fratello, you sounded like a girl~!"

"I did not! And anyways, I wasn't screaming! Men don't scream!" Lovino's face had now flushed his trademark shade of tomato red.

"Fratello looks so funny~"

"You shut up! You're just like that tomato bastard!"

"Ve, don't call big brother Antonio that~"

"I'll call him whatever the fuck I want!"

Just as Feliciano was about to speak, the doorbell rang. The Italian brothers walked to the door, to see Francis standing on the porch.

"What the hell do you want?" Lovino was about to rant at Francis about how it was "fucking annoying" when someone makes you leave breakfast, but noticed the panicked look Francis gave him. "Why the hell are you looking at me like that?"

"The Zwingli siblings…" Francis shuddered a bit.

"What about them? Say it or leave!"

"Ve~ don't be so mean, fratello. Let big brother Francis talk."

"The Zwingli siblings… they've been murdered."

"What?!"

"They were shot yesterday night." Francis wore a grave expression, which was unlike the flirtatious smile that could be found on his face.

"Who killed them?" Lovino couldn't think of anyone who would kill the siblings. Although he himself wasn't particularly too fond of the older brother (Vash, in Lovino's opinion, was a bit too trigger-happy and frugal), the younger sister was, although he would hate to admit it, completely adorable. And even if the older brother was a bit trigger-happy and frugal, Lovino couldn't think of anyone who would want to kill him. They always stayed neutral in neighborhood arguments and never annoyed anyone. In fact, they were almost like introverts, barely communicating with anyone else. Why anyone would have such strong feelings as to murder them was a mystery.

"The police are investigating."

"Ve, who are they?" Feliciano was a bit scared that someone his brother and Francis knew had been murdered. He wanted to know who they were, so that at least he would know who this tragedy had happened to.

"They are- were- a pair of siblings who live a few streets down from here. They were from Switzerland, and had moved here five years ago. The older sibling was a prickly man called Vash, who loved guns and his little sister more than anything. The younger sibling was a little girl who was very very cute. I think the older one was 20 years old and the younger one was about 12. That's all I know about them." Francis concluded his introduction of the late siblings.

"Ve, they sound like nice people." Feliciano felt a bit sad that the people that were killed were so young.

"Who the hell found them?"

"The neighbors. Usually, Vash would walk Lilli to their house for a play date with their son Peter. When Lilli didn't come, the two phoned Vash to ask if anything was wrong. When no one answered, I think they realized something was wrong, so they phoned the police. At least, that's what they said."

"How the hell do you know all this?" Lovino peered at Francis with a suspicious eye.

"Ohonhonhon, big brother has his ways." Francis' flirtatious smile was back for a second, as he walked on to tell more people of the news.

"Ve, fratello, that's so scary."

"Go back to eat. It's probably none of our business."

The brothers turned back to their kitchen.

"Who got murdered?!" Gilbert screeched at Francis.

"Mon ami, calm down a bit. Let me explain."

Francis recited what he had told the Italian brothers to Gilbert.

"How the hell did Vash of all people get murdered by a gun?! He had a whole collection of them, and trust me, he knows how to shoot." Gilbert's red eyes were wide open, not hiding any emotions.

"Wasn't Vash a friend of Roderich's? He was the Swiss man with the younger sister, right?" Ludwig was slightly confused as to who Vash was.

"Yeah, he was Roddy's friend. His little sister. Was she murdered too?"

"Yes… the girl was only 12!"

"Does Roddy know about this?"

"I expect not. They were just found this morning."

"As much as I hate to talk to him, I suppose we'd better tell him. After all, the guy was his friend." Gilbert sighed at the fact that he had to talk to his nemisis, ahem, cousin. "West, get the keys, we're driving. You remember where he lives, don't you?"

"I think so. It's not too far away, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's where all those prissy aristocrats live. Suits him, the little master." Gilbert snorted a bit as he opened the door. "Francey pants? You going with us?"

"Non, I'm going to tell Antonio."

"Suit yourself. Go spread your gossip like you always do. We'll be going now. Remember to lock the door after you go. And no finding a random neighbor and having sex with them. West will have my head if you do that again." Gilbert cackled a bit at the memory of an enraged Ludwig.

"Oh, you know me. You can trust me." Francis winked at Gilbert as he walked out the door cackling to himself.

"Now, which neighbor have I not…?"

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews! I really appreciate all of them, so thank you again! I'd never expected that any of my stories would get any reviews at all, so this really makes me happy. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Please review/follow/favorite!


	6. Chapter 6

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 5

"What did you just say?!" An Austrian man yelled at Gilbert and Ludwig. Said Austrian man was Roderich Edelstein, a cousin of the German brothers.

"It's true, you prissy." Gilbert couldn't help but add an insult to the end of the sentence. As depressing as the news was, he just couldn't give up an opportunity to insult his aristocrat of a cousin.

"Who… who killed them?" Roderich's voice shook slightly, a look of utter horror on his pale face. His usually composed and stuffy manner had disappeared, replaced by the look of a frightened child.

Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the state his cousin was in. His usually perfectly combed dark brown hair was a mess, as though he had just gotten out of bed. Actually, that was exactly what it was. Roderich rarely got up before noon, as his profession, being a piano teacher didn't require early mornings. Roderich's clothing was rumpled, as though he had just thrown on whatever he had and hoped he looked composed. Well, he didn't. A red dress shirt and dark purple pants really didn't look well together. He looked much like some sort of clown act gone wrong, with his shocked look and strange clothing choice.

"We don't know who killed them. We just got the news today." Ludwig answered Roderich's question, as Gilbert seemed too busy giggling about their cousin's rumpled look.

"Do you have any guess to who killed them?"

"No, you priss. Why would we? Did you expect us to personally know the murderer?" Gilbert snapped.

Roderich sighed, and sat down in a large, velvet covered sofa that was in the middle of his living room. He beckoned the brothers to do the same. They declined.

"We'd better get going now, Gilbert."

For once, Gilbert listened to what his (more sensible) younger brother told him to do.

Roderich listened to the telltale thump of the door closing, then leaned back in his sofa. He sighed yet again, registering what he had just been told. The Zwingli siblings were dead?

He reflected a bit on all the times he had spent with the older brother, Vash when they were younger. The Swiss man had been his best friend, all the way up till he was in 8th grade, and Vash was in 6th grade. They had had a massive fight that led to them not speaking to each other for over ten years. Roderich hated himself for being too proud to make up with his old friend. They had just reconciled with each other about two years ago, and were just beginning to become close friends again before Vash died. Was murdered.

A hot tear slid slowly down the Austrian man's face. Believe it or not, the man was highly emotional when no one was near, and the death of his friend only magnified that feature of him.

Roderich slowly lifted himself out of the sofa and over to his beloved piano. He sat himself down, and let his fingers roam the keyboard. Soon, his fingers had decided what to play; A sad little nocturne he himself had written. Also when a close person had died. Another tear slipped out, as he remembered… her.

Memories flooded his mind as his fingers danced across the keyboard.

_"When will you learn to stand up for yourself?" An angry little Swiss boy yelled at the older Austrian boy he was carrying on his back. "You're two years older than me, and I have to always bail you out! Shouldn't the 8 year old be helping the 6 year old and not the other way around?!" _

_"Vash will always help me, right?" The Austrian boy giggled a bit to himself. The Swiss boy made a small grunt of annoyance, but Roderich knew that a small, reluctant smile would appear on Vash's face. _

_Roderich buried his face into Vash's soft coat. He knew his best friend would always help him if he was in trouble, and he would always do the same. _

A small smile made it's way onto Roderich's face.

He then remembered the time when Lilli was born. Poor girl, ruthlessly murdered along with her brother. Roderich remembered that one time he had met them in the supermarket. She was so polite, not at all prickly like her brother.

_Roderich patted the sobbing Swiss boy beside him. They were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. Specifically, the maternity ward. Roderich was now 12 and Vash had just turned 10. The night before, Vash's mother had just given birth to a baby girl. It would've been a happy occasion. Vash had prepared for days and days for a surprise party when his mother got home. As much as Vash would deny it, he really was a rather sweet boy. _

_Vash's mother had a rough birth, and had perished in the end, after choosing to save her daughter rather than herself. Lilli was born successfully, at the cost of her mother's life. _

_"Vash Zwingli?" A doctor wearing a white overcoat walked over to the pair. "Your father would like you to see your little sister." _

_Vash sniffed as he tried to hide all the tears that covered his red face. Swallowing a sob, he walked inside with the doctor. _

_"Young man, would you like to accompany your friend? His father said that if you wished, you could come in also." _

_"I… sure. I'll come too." _

_Inside the little room, Vash was holding a bundle of pink blankets, mumbling something to himself. Roderich nodded hello to Vash's father, then went to where his friend sat. _

_A tiny face peeked out of the blanket at the pair, huge green eyes staring unblinkingly at them. A small smile was on the baby's pink face, as though she knew it was her older brother. Tiny strands of golden hair loosely covered her head. _

_"I'm your older brother. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you. Ever." Vash was mumbling. "Mother died for you. I won't let anything happen to you." Roderich smiled at the serious look on his friend's face. _

Vash had kept his promise. He hadn't let anyone he deemed 'bad' associate themselves with his sister when she entered school, and was always early to pick her up from school. Lilli had trusted her brother with her life, and adored her overprotective big brother.

_Vash, Lilli, I know you're together there in heaven. _

Lovino peered at the Zwingli's small house from Feliciano's room on the second floor with a pair of binoculars. He wanted to know what had happened.

Trying to lip read what the police were saying wasn't helping much. Especially since they barely talked and mostly wrote down things in those stupid note pads of theirs.

"Ve, fratello, what are you doing? You're going to fall out of the window if you keep doing that…"

Lovino nearly lost whatever breakfast he had eaten when he saw that most of his body was pretty much hanging out of the window. Feliciano giggled at the look of surprise on his brother's face.

"Ve, I made pasta! I invited big brother Antonio and Gilbert and Luddy over!"

"You what?! You invited the potato bastards over?!" Lovino screeched.

"Lovi, mind your language~" Antonio sang from the kitchen.

"How the hell did you find their phone numbers?" Lovino sputtered at his trembling younger brother.

"Ve, you wrote them on little post-it notes on the refrigerator door!" With that, Feliciano scampered off.

"The one time you decide to be smart, you invite a bunch of bastards over to our house."

_"_Lovi~ The pasta's getting cold~!" Antonio called from downstairs. Just then, someone knocked the door. "Oh, it must be Francis!"

Just what Lovino needed. The whole bad touch trio in his house. Maybe if he called the police, they'd be happy to take the three away? Probably not. Last time that happened, the police had let them out after two hours, as they were drunk, and Francis was molesting everyone in the waiting station.

"Bonjour~! Big brother is here!" The somber tone of that morning had disappeared completely from Francis, as he was back to his normal, flirtatious self. Lovino sighed. That serious mood had been a nice change from Francis' usual rapist self.

Wait a minute. Francis was down there with his little brother.

Shit.

Lovino pretty much hurled himself downstairs. Knowing how oblivious his little brother was, Francis was probably already touching Feliciano in places where no one should.

"You'd better get your hands off my brother!"

"I see you've decided to join us for lunch." Ludwig said in his usual stoic manner.

"You shut it, potato bastard. Francis, I'm watching you."

"Moi? Why would I do anything?" Francis batted his eyelashes, as though that would make him seem in any way innocent. All it did was make him look even more like he was trying to molest someone.

"Ve, I saved some pasta for you!" A plate of pasta was thrusted into Lovino's hands.

"Tch. Alright, I'll eat some…" Lovino grumbled as he shoveled some of the noodles into his mouth. It actually wasn't half bad… Lovino was secretly hoping that his brother's cooking would be worse than his, so that Lovino could brag that his cooking was the best in the family's. Guess that wouldn't happen now… At least his cooking wasn't quite as bad as Arthur's… Speaking of Arthur.

"I think Arthur's down at the Zwingli house with all the other police members. I saw him through my.. Uh…" Lovino turned slightly red. How was he supposed to explain that he had been staring at the police through his binoculars? He would sound like some sort of stalker!

"Oui, he's down there. I passed him on the way here." Somehow, all the members at the table had a feeling Francis didn't just happen to "pass" Arthur as he walked to the Vargas' house.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it~" Antonio sang, as he skipped to the door. Lovino shook his head. Why did he love that idiot again?

"Oh, it's you Arthur." Antonio looked slightly surprised, since weren't they just talking about Arthur?

"Antonio, what the bloody hell are you doing here? This is the residence of Lovino Vargas, isn't it?" Arthur glanced down at the list of houses in his hand.

"You scone bastard, what the fuck are you doing here?" Lovino cussed at the police officer standing at his front door.

"Well, as you might know, there has been a murder a few doors down, and I'm a member of the police force. We're the ones investigating this. I'm asking door to door for alibis. Do you have one?" Arthur looked skeptically at the glaring Lovino.

"Why the hell would we need fucking alibis?!" Lovino ranted at the blond haired police officer.

Arthur furrowed his (massive) eyebrows, before sighing once and replying that everyone was required to be asked.

"Tch. Well, Feliciano and I were sleeping all night. None of us could have done it. Check the fucking security cameras if you want evidence!" Lovino scoffed at Arthur.

"Feliciano?"

"My stupid little brother."

"Isn't he dead?" Arthur internally slapped himself for sounding so rude. Not at all like a British gentleman.

"No he isn't. Feliciano, come here."

Feliciano's head peeked through the kitchen door. "Hi Arthur!"

"I see. He was awakened like the doctors said?"

"You fucking blind? What do you fucking think?"

"Ohonhonhon, Arthur's a little… thick. It might take a little time for things to register~" Francis' voice floated out from the kitchen, where he was obviously eavesdropping.

"I'm not…!" Arthur sputtered in dismay. "Frog, you shouldn't be here."

"Ohonhonhon, why shouldn't I visit my dear friends?" The way Francis said friends, he made it sound as thought it were a lot more.

"You bloody frog. Don't make me arrest you again for molesting someone!"

"Ohonhonhon, getting kinky? Anyways, I know you enjoyed it last time~" A fit of laughs could be heard from the kitchen. It sounded as though Antonio and Gilbert were also there. Arthur better get away fast.

"Alright, I'll get going now. I've got to interview everyone within a three street radius. "Have a nice day."

"Ohonhonhon, than you~"

"Not to you! Bloody frog…" Arthur muttered as he shut the door behind him.

"That was very interesting, was it not? Arthur is so fun to tease." The bad touch trio exploded into laughs.

Lovino sighed. Trouble seemed to follow the bad touch trio wherever they went. If he got out the gun his grandfather gave him when he turned 18 they would get away? Not that he knew how to use it.

Actually, he'd better not. Knowing his luck, he'd end up shooting himself.

_Today has been very exiting, no? _

_I suppose so. _

_Well… perhaps tonight might be even more exiting. _

_Hm? Why? _

_You'll see. Or not. _

_Are you going to go now? _

_Yes. _

_You know, you're annoying, but not that bad. _

_You are calling me annoying? _

Ludwig blushed a little as he watched Feliciano eat. He was like a little kid, the way he acted. It was rather… cute? It was almost like… Ludwig could really place it, but it felt strangely familiar.

_Why are you so strange, Feliciano? _

"Ve, Luddy, what are you thinking of? You look so funny!"

"Potato bastard, what the hell are you doing?!"

Author's note: This was sort of a filler chapter... I was on the plane from Shanghai, China to Vancouver, Canada for 11.5 hours, and this was what my messed up mind came up with between movies and reading books. Now I have to deal with jet lag... Anyways, please review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I realized that I've forgotten to put a disclaimer in all the chapters of the story, so anyways, I don't own Hetalia.


	7. Chapter 7

Half-Alive Doll

Chapter 6

_The nerve of that potato bastard! _Lovino fumed as he stalked across the kitchen to where Ludwig and his brother sat. _He was probably thinking of how to rape my stupid little brother! And Feliciano's so stupid that he probably wouldn't even know if he was being raped or not! _

_"_Ve~ Luddy~ you're face is so red~ It looks like a tomato!" Feliciano giggled a bit as he poked Ludwig's face. The German's already red face blushed an even deeper shade of red.

Lovino glared at the German. He was tricking his stupid brother into thinking he wasn't a stupid German potato! And Feli was falling for his stupid tricks!

"Get away from my brother, you potato!"

"Ve… Lovi, did you know that Luddy's cheeks are really soft~?"

"Shut it!" Lovino yelled. How could his brother not know that what he had just said could be interpreted in more ways than one?

"Lovi~ I have a cheer up charm for you!" Antonio suddenly piped up.

"What the fuck?" Lovino stared blankly at the Spanish man as Antonio spread his arms out before him at Lovino, then said something that sounded like "Fusosososo~", over and over again.

As Antonio finished chanting, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few slips of paper.

"I have another cheer up charm!"

"The fuck is this?" Lovino grabbed the slips of paper out of Antonio's hand. He skimmed over the contents of the paper before looking up.

"You want us to go to a carnival?"

Antonio nodded.

"This has got to be the most random thing you've done, and that's saying something."

"So can we go?"

Lovino noticed Francis and Gilbert staring intently at him. Both of them had their fingers crossed.

"Alright, alright. But only because I have nothing else to do." Lovino sighed.

A loud whoop came from Gilbert, as Francis shot him a sour look. Francis reached into the pocket of his designer coat and pulled out a small wad of bank notes. Gilbert grabbed the money then waved it in front of the frenchman's face. Francis glared and swatted his hand away.

"Ve, can I have some money too?"

"No, stupid."

"But you can have these~!" Antonio sang as he took 2 tickets from Lovino, leaving him with 2.

"Ve~ Lovi, can I go to the carnival too?" Feliciano pleaded to Lovino.

"Tomato bastard, I thought we were going to the carnival by ourselves?" A small hint of jealousy laced Lovino's words.

"But don't you want cute little Feli to come with us?" He pouted at Lovino. There was no way he could resist that face.

"Alright, alright. But Feli, you can't bother us. If you do, you can't go."

"Ve, can Luddy come too? I have 2 tickets."

"The potato bastard?!" Lovino was starting to turn red again.

"Sure! Then me and Lovi can go by ourselves." Antonio piped up. "It'll be fun!"

Meanwhile, Francis and Gilbert were whining to each other. "Why the hell didn't the bastard get us tickets? We're his best friends!"

"He could've given us the fucking tickets and left Feli and Ludwig at home. They wouldn't mind, anyways. In fact…" Francis had a sly grin on his face.

Gilbert blinked, contemplating what Francis had said. It took a total of 10 seconds for him to understand what Francis was implying. "You pervert! But still… yeah. West seriously needs to get that stick out of his ass and you know…" Gilbert waved his hand in the general direction of the two, not saying anything, for fear of Lovino overhearing him.

"Ohonhonhon… I like how you think~"

The two had to stuff their fists into their mouths to stifle the sound of laughing.

Unbeknownst to them, Ludwig had heard every word. He didn't say anything, but the bright red blush on his face made it obvious that he understood what his older brother and his friend were saying.

He wasn't altogether against it, though.

After all, it was somewhat true.

"Sir, the bodies have disappeared." A young police officer stammered to a slightly older policeman who was sitting at a large desk sipping tea and reading some sort of book.

Arthur Kirkland looked up from the mystery novel he had been reading.

"Excuse me? Did you just say that the _bodies _have disappeared?"

"Y-yes sir…?"

Arthur close his book and set it on his table. He could already feel a migraine forming.

"Are you telling me that the bodies of the Zwingli siblings have just disappeared?"

"Y-yes…" The young officer nodded.

"How the bloody hell did two dead bodies disappear? Are you saying that they just stood up and walked away?"

"Uh…"

"Go ask around to see if anyone's moved them."

"Yes sir." The young officer turned and walked out of the office, closing the wooden door with a dull thump.

"What the hell is wrong with this town… first, two siblings get murdered out of the blue, and now their bodies are gone."

A light knocking on the door shook Arthur out of his thoughts.

"Sir, no one has moved the bodies. I've checked the security cameras, but someone had disabled them since yesterday. There are no records of anyone entering the room."

"What the hell…"

"Sir… do you want me to check anywhere else…?"

"Just go… just leave me alone for a few moments." Arthur watched the young man scurry out of the room."

Just as the young man ran out of the room, the phone rang. Arthur waited a few seconds before picking up.

"Hello? This is Arthur Kirkland speaking. Who is this?" Arthur didn't bother with being polite. He just wanted to know what the person wanted.

"Hello, Arthur. How is your day?" A slightly accented voice asked from the other side of the line.

"Who is this?"

"Is this line secure?"

"I said, who is this."

"I need a secure line. I have critical information involving the Zwingli siblings and their murder. But I need a secure line. You will meet me at the medical center, 143 East 37th street. Come at 8 tonight. I won't be taking no for an answer."

"What if I don't come?" Arthur was slightly nervous.

"I assure you, you don't want to know."

"I…"

"You will come. Also, don't bring anyone with you."

"I-" The man had already hung up."

"What the hell…?"

Arthur glanced at the clock. It read 2 PM. He had 6 hours left until the meeting.

"I suppose I'd better come. I'll bring a gun, just in case." It wasn't like him to be this reckless, but something in the man's voice told him that he doesn't want to mess with him.

"Where the hell are those two bastards? They're late…" Lovino grumbled as he paced around the living room, looking out of the window every few seconds.

Just as the words left his lips, a slightly beaten down grey car pulled into the driveway. Two men emerged from it.

"You're late, you bastard." Lovino didn't even bother to address Ludwig, focusing only on Antonio.

"Yes… well, there was a traffic jam…" Antonio replied rather sheepishly.

"That's no excuse!"

Ludwig decided to get away from the two, in fear that Lovino would drag him into the interrogation.

"Ve, Luddy, you're finally here~" A high pitched voice chirped from behind Ludwig. He would've jumped, if he were anyone else. However, years of living with Gilbert had honed his ability to stay calm even if someone randomly attacked him with a baseball bat.

"Uh… hello." Ludwig mentally slapped himself for sounding so stupid.

Luckily, Feliciano didn't seem to notice. Instead, he dragged the taller German into the house, a never ending stream of words issuing from his mouth. Ludwig didn't even have time to register half of what the Italian was saying.

"… and then the squirrel took my pasta!" Feliciano paused a bit for effect, then looked at the German to see what his reaction to his tale about the squirrel and his pasta. All he got was a slightly confused stare.

"Uh… sure. Yes. Hm. The squirrel took your pasta." Ludwig mumbled. He wasn't exactly sure what to say, but Feliciano seemed to accept his answer.

"You two better not be doing anything in there!" Lovino yelled at the two from outside the house. "We'll be going in a few minutes. Potato bastard, if I see you doing anything…"

Ludwig wasn't particularly threatened by Lovino. After all, the man was all bark and no bite.

"Ve, what does Lovi think we're doing?" Feliciano had his expression of everlasting innocence on. Ludwig swallowed and fumbled for words to explain what his brother thought they were "doing".

Luckily, Ludwig was saved from an embarrassing explanation by Antonio. "We're going, you two. You have your tickets, right?"

Feliciano fumbled around looking for the tickets before holding them out proudly. "I have them~"

"We'll be going, then."

The carnival was wonderful. There were food stands everywhere, and small stalls selling everything from masks to goldfish. The group of four split up into two and began to explore the seemingly never ending line of stalls.

Feliciano immediately dragged Ludwig over to a stand that sold tiny ceramic sculptures, and grew attached to a cat who was holding a small ball of pink yarn. Ludwig felt slightly awkward standing there, with so many small children and people like Feliciano. He seemed to be the only one there who was serious.

Finally, Feliciano made up his mind and had bought the cat. Ludwig let himself be dragged away, glad to be away from the overbearing cuteness of the stall.

Feliciano was having the time of his life. He had never seen so many fun things in one place before! He was just about to scoop up a goldfish out of a tiny plastic bin when an old friend decided to drop by.

_Are you having a good time? _

"Wuh!" Feliciano jumped up and dropped the goldfish he had in his hand.

_Can you go away right now? I really want a goldfish… _Feliciano whined at the voice.

_Are you ordering me around? _

_Uh… no? _

_Yes you are. You will not go around ordering me to go away. I must remind you, I am the one keeping you alive right now. And I can take that life right away from you, like that fire did 9 years ago. _

Feliciano shuddered. How could a voice inside his head take away his life? He had a feeling he didn't want to find out.

_Okay, okay. I won't order you to go away! Just don't kill me! _

_Good boy. Now, I want you to do something for me. _

_Yes…? _

_Listen carefully. _

Ludwig stared at Feliciano. No one else ever seemed to notice, but the young Italian seemed to frequently space out and talk to himself. Who, or what was Feliciano talking to? Could he have a multiple personality disorder? Ludwig shook his head.

_So all I need to do is go there at 8 tonight? _

_Yes. And make sure you're alone. Try to not let anyone see you as you get away. _

_What if I don't go? _

_Remember what I said about taking away your life? _

_Alright, I'll go! Don't hurt me… _

_Good. I'll be going now. I have important business to attend to. _

Feliciano wondered what business a voice inside his head could possibly have. Perhaps he was going to visit some other voices? Who knew.

"Luddy, what time is it?"

"Hm? It's 7:30."

"Oh, alright." _I need to start going soon. I'm so scared!_

"Luddy, do you mind finding Lovi and going with him? My stomach feels a bit funny. I think I ate too much gelato earlier." That was a complete lie. He hadn't eaten gelato in 9 years.

"You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, no! I'll be fine!" Feliciano replied a little too quickly. Ludwig stared at him for a few seconds, before accepting what he had said.

"Alright. Be safe…" _I don't want you to go… I wanted to tell you something… _

"Bye~ Tell Lovi I'll be at home!" With that, Feliciano bounded off.

In the opposite direction of his home.

"Your house is that way!"

Feliciano pretended not to hear. He was too scared to even nod at Ludwig. He needed to go to the medical center fast. The voice sounded serious.

_Please don't hurt me… please don't hurt me… I don't want to die again. I'm such a coward… _

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait! I broke all the fingers in one of my hands so I couldn't type for a bit over a month. Again, sorry for the long wait! I'll try to write faster to make up for the wait.


	8. Chapter 8

Half Alive Doll

Chapter 7

Feliciano ran until his lungs burned and his legs threatened to collapse. Where was the medical building? Was the voice toying with him?

Just as he was about to give up and find a way back home, he stumbled into a large, open pavilion that was surrounded on three sides by the humongous medical center. The pavilion was a large empty square that had no roads, or anything else for that matter. There was only the concrete on the ground. It gave off a strange, eery feel. Even stranger was that there was no one other than Feliciano there.

Feliciano stepped out to the middle of the pavilion and quietly surveyed his surroundings. All around him were large, concrete buildings with small windows and no visible doors. All the curtains seemed to be drawn, and no one seemed to be walking around inside. The medical center he was standing in front of was different from what he had imagined a medical center to be. Feliciano had imagined a bustling place filled with nurses and doctors in clean white uniforms running around with clipboards and pencils, attending to their patients. Not this cold, empty place.

Feliciano suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching him.

"H-hello…? Is there anyone there?" Feliciano called out, terrified.

A hand clapped itself on his shoulder. Feliciano gave a loud scream of fright.

"Bloody hell! What is wrong with you?!" A clipped, English accent scolded the Italian boy. Feliciano turned around.

Facing him was a rather short- but still slightly taller than him- seemingly blonde British man with the largest eyebrows Feliciano had ever seen in his life. There were like black caterpillars stuck to his face!

"E-excuse me, who are you?"

"I should be asking you the same question."

Feliciano whimpered, terrified under the man's piercing glare. "I…" he didn't even have a chance to finish his sentence.

A loud clang filled the empty pavilion with sound. A large frying pan had just slammed onto Arthur's head, immediately knocking the British man out. Feliciano didn't even have time to scream, before the same frying pan hit his head. He only caught a glimpse of wavy brown hair before blacking out.

"You let him what?!" Lovino screamed in anger at Ludwig.

"He told me to tell you that he was going home!" Ludwig held his hands up in surrender.

"And you let him?!" Lovino grabbed the front of the German man's shirt.

Antonio smiled a bit and tried to reason with the furious Italian. "Lovi, don't be angry! I have a cheer up charm for you!"

Lovino opened his mouth in protest as Antonio held his arms in front of him while chanting "Fusosososo~" quietly. Lovino batted Antonio's arms away as he strode up to the German again.

"Why the hell did you let my idiot of a brother go home by himself?! Knowing him, he's probably crying by the side of a road because he couldn't figure out a way to cross the road!" Lovino ranted.

"Mon cher, don't kill the messenger. If you want, we-" Francis pointed rather suggestively at himself and Lovino "can go find Feliciano."

"Like hell we are!" Lovino fumed as Gilbert laughed behind his hand.

"Well, if you are concerned for Feliciano, you should go look for him."

"Hmph." Lovino didn't actually really want to go look for his brother. He was having a surprisingly good time at the carnival and didn't want to leave yet. And anyways, his brother was probably already home making pasta or something random he had thought up. Most likely pasta.

"Whatever. The idiot will probably find his way home." Lovino felt a small stab of guilt at leaving his idiot brother to fend for himself, but anyways, what could possibly go wrong?

Feliciano groaned as he tried to sit up. His head hurt so much, he couldn't even think straight. What had happened? All he remembered was going to a place with big buildings… and black caterpillars… wait… caterpillars? No, not caterpillars. Eyebrows. Eyebrows that looked like caterpillars. Feliciano shook his head a little as he opened his eyes.

Feliciano's eyes opened wide as he took in the room he was currently in.

He seemed to be in some sort of plastic container, one that was big enough so that he could stand upright without too much trouble, but not big enough so that he could sit. The strange thing was that he wasn't standing nor sitting. He was sort of suspended up in the air by something. Feliciano moved his hand to the back of the container, with the feeling that he would find what was keeping him up back there.

He was right. Something cold and shaped like a pipe was sticking out of his back into the metal wall behind him. He couldn't feel the pipe sticking out of him, but it was definitely there. Feliciano wriggled around a bit, to see if it would come off. It didn't.

After coming to the conclusion that the pipe wasn't coming off anytime soon, Feliciano decided to survey the room he was currently in.

The room he was in was huge; it was probably the size of the entire Vargas house. Situated at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room were cylinder shaped glass cases, which seemed to be similar to the one Feliciano himself was trapped in. There was a person in each of the cases.

Feliciano could see a short asian man with a bowl cut in the case opposite of his case. The man seemed to be asleep, or at least knocked out. His eyes were closed, and he had a slightly tense, but peaceful expression on his face. A young blond girl in a pink dress and a purple bow in her hair was in the case to the right of the asian man. She smiled a bit as she slept, her expression completely at ease. To her right, Feliciano saw a blond man who was obviously the blond girl's sibling. His facial expression, however, was completely different from the girl's. He was frowning in his sleep, his fists clenched. Feliciano had a feeling that the blond man would not be someone he wanted to mess around with.

After surveying the people to the right of the asian man, he decided to look to his left. To the left of the asian man, a rather tall, slender woman stood. Her platinum blond hair had a dark purple bow in it, giving her a slightly innocent look. However, her expression was anything but innocent. She had a dark frown upon her pretty face, giving her an aura of distinct creepiness. Feliciano shuddered and looked to her left. Another woman stood in the case. Her long, wavy brown hair cascaded down her back, and she had a pretty face with a small mischievous smile. Something about her seemed familiar, but Feliciano couldn't place what.

Feliciano was about to survey the tall blond man with the gravity defying hair and drunk looking smirk beside the brunette woman when the door opened. Feliciano's head snapped over to look at who had just walked into the room, but didn't see anyone enter. Just as suddenly as the door had opened, the door of Feliciano's case opened. The pipe sticking out of his back pushed him forward, the dropped him unceremoniously onto the ground.

"Ow…" Feliciano rubbed his back.

_Stand up. _

Shakily, Feliciano stood up. He was scared to disobey the voice.

_Go to the door and turn to your left. _

Feliciano did as he was told.

_Right._

Feliciano turned right.

_Now left._

Feliciano followed all the instructions the voice gave him. He walked up 3 flights of stairs, went down one, the turned right and left so many times he lost count. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he found himself in the pavilion again.

"Voice, can I please go…?" Feliciano pleaded. He was scared of the voice, and didn't want anything to do with it.

_No, you fool. Well, you can go home right now, but you must promise me something. _

"What if I don't?"

_Are you sure you want to find out? _

Feliciano shook his head rapidly. He didn't like the tone of the voice.

_Thought you didn't. Now, your mission. _

Feliciano whimpered.

_All I need you to do is to become very very good friends with Ludwig Beilschmidt and bring him to this building in three months' time. Do you understand? And by friends… I mean very good friends. He shouldn't suspect anything when you lead him here, do you understand?_

Feliciano let out a sigh of relief. Everything was fine. All he had to was make friends! He didn't question why he had to bring Ludwig to the building. However, he had a bad feeling about this...

"Okay…"

_Good boy. Now scram, before your worthless brother notices you aren't home. _

"Yes sir!" Feliciano ran off as fast as he could. He wanted to get away from the creepy place as soon as possible. Then maybe he should tell the police about this place? People weren't supposed to be held in little cases with pipes attached to them, were they?

_Oh, and don't even think about going to the police. In fact, don't remember anything about this day. _

Before Feliciano could respond, all the thoughts he had surrounding the bodies disappeared. Why was he here? What was he thinking of? Feliciano suddenly felt very lost.

All he remembered was that he needed to be friends with Ludwig.

Feliciano smiled a bit, happy that he and Ludwig were going to be friends. Maybe they could sleep over at each others' houses! That's what friends did, right? Feliciano hummed a bit to himself as he bounded home. Becoming friends with Ludwig sounded great!

Lovino opened the door to his house, grumbling how the carnival had ended "too damn early". He was met by the smell of pasta, an obvious sign that his brother was home.

As though on cue, Feliciano stuck his head out of the kitchen and waved at Lovino.

"Fratello, you're back~!" Feliciano sang.

"Of course I'm back, you idiot."

Feliciano ran out of the kitchen holding a steaming plate of pasta, then quickly sat his brother down before Lovino could even get his coat off. Feliciano grabbed a fork and shoved it in his brother's hand, then nearly force fed Lovino the pasta.

"Idiot, what the hell is wrong with you? You're being all… weird." Lovino asked Feliciano, exasperated.

"Nothing, fratello!"

"Hm." Lovino stared at his brother for a little more to make sure nothing was wrong. What if the potato bastard had done something to his brother while they were at the festival, and that was why Feliciano was acting so weird?

"Idiot, did the fucking potato bastard do something to you?"

"Hm? Luddy?" Lovino grimaced at the overly affectionate nickname. "No, nothing. Why?"

"Nothing… nothing."

Feliciano smiled absentmindedly, playing with the edge of his shirt. Suddenly, the voice spoke in his head.

_Remember what you promised?_

Feliciano suddenly flinched. He looked up suddenly and said to Lovino. "I have to find Luddy right now! It's really really important!" Feliciano stammered out.

"The hell? Why?"

"I accidentally left all my money with him!" Feliciano lied.

"Hmph." Lovino sounded annoyed. "Alright. Make it fast."

"Thank you so much, fratello!" Feliciano quickly hugged his brother before tugging on a coat and running out the door.

"Wonder what's wrong with him… He's been acting weird lately."

Lovino shrugged, and went back to slurping up his pasta. It was good pasta, Lovino had to admit. As weird as his brother acted, the idiot could cook.

Feliciano was slightly confused as how to approach Ludwig. Walking up to his house and suddenly declaring them best friends and that Ludwig had to go to a creepy medical center right away didn't seem like the best approach. It would probably creep Ludwig out a bit.

Feliciano wrung his hands. "I don't know what to do!"

"What to do what?" A deep voice sounded behind him.

Feliciano shrieked as he leapt about a foot in the air. He then rapidly turned around to see who had replied him. Just his luck. It was Ludwig.

"Hi Luddy~!" Feliciano sang in his normal air headed voice.

"Hello. Tell me. What to do what? And why are you standing at my door?"

Feliciano contemplated his answer for a few seconds. "Uh… Luddy, I wanted to tell you something…"

Ludwig felt his face go hot. If Feliciano was about to say what Ludwig thought he was going to say, Ludwig would have an extremely hard time answering properly. Ludwig shook his head a few times to rid his head of any thoughts that were to be deemed "inappropriate".

"Ve, Luddy, your face is all red~" Ludwig felt a cold finger poke at his burning cheek. The hotness in his face burned even more than before.

"Uh… I…"

"I wanted to tell you…" Feliciano began again. Ludwig's face burned red all over again. "I really want to be best friends with you…"

That was it? Ludwig almost laughed with relief. He didn't have to deal with any uncomfortable situations today! He was saved from having to tell Feliciano something embarrassing.

"Uh… I would like that too…"

"Really?" Feliciano's amber eyes shone with the excitement and happiness, and for some strange reason, relief.

"Uh… Yes."

"Then we're going to do best friend stuff tomorrow! Can we have lunch tomorrow together, just the two of us?" Feliciano pleaded.

"Uh…"

"I'll come over sometime before twelve, okay? It'll be like a date! Ciao, Luddy~!"

With that, the small Italian bounded off back to his house. Ludwig stood there, stunned. His mind was still halfway through the process of organizing all the information that had been blasted at him. The only word that really made it through his thoughts was 'date'.

Ludwig blushed darkly, then put his hand in his palm in exasperation. He had intended that his first date be well planned, everything rehearsed beforehand. Definitely not like this, with Feliciano randomly showing up at his door, then declaring that they were going on a date.

Ludwig sighed.

Fate never seemed to work according to his plans.

Feliciano smiled brightly to himself as he bounced off towards his house. He felt as though he had done great! He and Ludwig were now best friends, and they were going to do best friend stuff the next day. Beaming with the satisfaction of a cat who had just eaten a bowl of cream, Feliciano opened his door.

_Good job. You'd better not mess up tomorrow. _

The voice had to ruin his good spirits…

_I'm not ruining your good spirits. Don't be annoyed by me, idiot. I'm your key to living. And remember, as I told you before, I can take that life away from you. It wouldn't be hard. _

Feliciano shuddered a bit as he closed his front door.

Author's note: I'm sorry for the long wait! School's being a bitch... This chapter is slightly longer than usual to make up for the long absence! Again, so so sorry. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed! Please review!


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